Photo By Sgt. Antonio Rubio | Lance Cpl. Kishun Parrott, an initial provision chief with Combat Logistics Company...... read more read more
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GOTEMBA, Japan - Lt. Cmdr. Harvey Macklin, regimental chaplain with Combat Logistics Regiment 35, conducted a sermon with Combat Logistics Company 36 Marines and augments to boost morale and foster unit cohesion during Exercise Dragon Fire 2014 at Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, July 13.
Dragon Fire is CLC-36’s annual Battle Skills Training exercise that focuses on improving the individual and collective combat skills of CLC-36 service members with an emphasis on weapons familiarization training.
Macklin said the military does a good job improving service members’ proficiency and competency, but is not so adept at building their spirit or humanity.
“By allowing them to calm down and let their emotions settle, we are able to bring the service members into a faith-based spiritual service where they’re able to think past their weapon, past combat maneuvers, past their training and into thinking, ‘who am I?’” said Macklin. “When it really gets tough and lives are on the line, when people are dying or the stress and anxiety is really high, who they are is the question they’ll be asking themselves.”
Macklin said that after talking to service members, he realized the sermon could help bring serenity to them, despite the stresses of simulated combat and little sleep.
“Services like this bring unit cohesion and with cohesion, the unit grows stronger,” said Lance Cpl. Kishun Parrott, an initial provision chief with CLC-36. “It puts us in a strong mindset and helps us maintain focus while we’re away from home conducting training.”
Macklin also said he timed this service in order to mimic an actual sermon in combat. Chaplains wait for the perfect moment where they can invest the right time and effort into service members lives, so they retain the lessons taught.
“This allowed the best operational pause because (movement on urban terrain) town gives us covering and this would be very similar to a combat service,” said Macklin. “I’ve done this in combat. We go in, we secure an area, we put out a perimeter and then we have a service that evening or afternoon. We potentially take causalities and enemy fire by that point, so we want to thank God that we’re still alive and we made it through.”
Service members said the sermon had a positive effect and one Marine said it encouraged him to be a leader in the Marine Corps.
“You don’t know what lies in the buildings you go through, so you have to place faith in your leaders that they will take you through and execute the plan,” said Parrott. “You have to believe in them because you’ll get to a point where you’re scared, but you have that moral and mental strength to endure past your anxiety and get the task done.”
Macklin said the energy and excitement of the service members doing their job was motivating to him. He witnessed service members grow not just as warriors and Marines, but also as strong spiritual leaders.
“They’re going to have to make a decision one day on who they’re going to follow and what they’re going to put their trust in,” said Macklin. “From my perspective, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior to lead us, guide us; to help us with our mind, our heart, our soul and our strength, is who we are. Everything else comes after that. Bravery, courage, obedience, loyalty; it all comes out of who you are. If you don’t know yourself, you’re going to have very little success in life.”
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2014 02:26 |
| Story ID: | 136847 |
| Location: | GOTEMBA, SHIZUOKA, JP |
| Web Views: | 151 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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